Vast 10,000-year-old reservoir with enough water to last four centuries found under Namibia and Angola

One of the driest areas in sub-Saharan Africa is set to benefit from a newly discovered water source capable of supplying the area for 400 years.

According to scientists the aquifer could bolster development in Namibia with the water thought to be cleaner to drink than many of its alternative sources.

For many of the 800,000 residents living close to the Namibian and Angolan borders, the only source of water has been a solitary canal.

Breakthrough: The new aquifer found in Namibia could serve the northern part of the country for up to 400 years

But the amount stored in the new source, believed to be enough to cater for north Namibia for 400 years, has been discovered after going unnoticed for up to 10,000 years.

The government has long been trying to deal with the issue by calling in supplies from countries across Europe but have now identified the new aquifer, called Ohangwena II, which flows under the boundary between Angola and Namibia.

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According to the BBC project manager Martin Quinger, from the German federal institute for geoscience and natural resources (BGR), said: 'The amount of stored water would equal the current supply of this area in northern Namibia for 400 years, which has about 40 percent of the nation's population.

'What we can say is that the huge amount of stored water is will always be enough for a back up for an area that is currently supplied only by surface water.

Barren: Up until now much of Namibia has relied heavily on poor sources of water because it is so dry

'If the water [has spent] 10,000 years
underground, it means it was recharged at a time when environmental
pollution was not yet an issue, so on average it can be a lot better
than water that infiltrates in cycles of months or years.'

The major issue now facing the area, however, is those looking to exploit the new source and look to carry out illegal use.

Namibia has more than 300 days of sunshine per year and average in some coastal areas have an average rainfall of zero, with droughts inevitable, meaning others will possibly look to take advantage of the source.